Obama praises Reid in Vegas

Oct. 22, 2010

Written by

Associated Press

Inside

The president also stopped in Los Angeles to campaign for U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. 1BRGJ.com/elections» Compare and pick candidates for the Nov. 2 election. You can learn about candidates and print out the ballots, based on your address, and take it with you to the polls.» Read past stories and the latest updates.

More

ADVERTISEMENT

President Barack Obama played wingman Friday, heaping praise on U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and urging a divided electorate to choose his friend over Republican Sharron Angle.

"Harry is not the flashiest guy, let's face it," Obama said to peals of laughter outside a Las Vegas middle school. "Harry kind of speaks in a very soft voice. He doesn't move very quickly. He doesn't give stem-winding speeches. But Harry does the right thing."

Obama's get-out-the-vote rally followed similar visits in Portland, Ore., Minneapolis and Seattle, where a string of close contests could hand the U.S. House and U.S. Senate over to the GOP.

In Nevada, where the Senate race is locked in a dead heat, at question is whether Obama's coattails have shrunk since his historic 2008 victory that saw the Silver State turn blue.

A boisterous tea party movement fueled by economic frustrations has made Democrats its top targets, and Reid is running for a fifth term as Nevada confronts the highest unemployment rate in the country.

Jobless numbers released Friday showed the steady's foreclosure rate held steady at 14.4 percent, while unemployment grew in Nevada's largest cities. In Las Vegas, unemployment soared to a record high of 15 percent.

Reid introduced Obama at the rally, his voice faintly carrying through to the 9,000 people gathered outside Orr Middle School, where less than 11 percent of the student body is white. Reid has targeted minority voters.

"We never give up, do we, Nevadans?" he said, drawing a smattering of applause.

Reid acknowledged the unemployment figures at a news conference earlier Friday, where he heralded thousands of new jobs in roadway construction, the latest jobs event he has held in the final days of the election.

"We found ourselves in a hole that I didn't dig, but I have dug, dug and dug to try to get out of that hole," Reid said.

Republicans dismissed the notion that Obama might provide a much-needed boost to their opponents.

Angle greeted the presidential invasion with a new television spot titled "Welcome to Nevada, Mr. President." The ad contrasts Obama's promises as a candidate against Nevada's dark economy. Before the rally, Angle sent an e-mail to supporters that boasted her campaign had received $150,000 in contributions through its anti-Obama offense.

The voters

Democrats hold a notable edge over Republicans among registered voters in Nevada, but unpredictable independent voters make up roughly 21 percent of the electorate. In Clark County, Democrats have built a steady lead since early voting began Oct. 16, with 41,560 votes cast compared with 33,747 from Republicans.

Obama voters carried U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, into office in 2008. At the rally, she begged for an encore.

"You are my army," Titus said. "You are my family, and we need you now more than ever to help Democrats win this."

But her rival, Republican Joe Heck, said Obama's shine has tarnished

"Nothing has improved in Congress," Heck told the Associated Press. "In fact, things have gotten much, much worse since he took office."